A Little Fall Poem

Shadow

I walk in crispness, 

In everything from the smart and snapping rhythm of heels on concrete 

To the razor straight lines of my collar pulled up against the chill,

Quasi covering my ears as I shrug to tuck them further inside the wool of my coat.

My shadow, in which the crispness of the collar

And the snapping shoes cut an abstract outline

--A silhouette, a Bond girl--

My shadow does not follow, but leads,

Pulling me towards my shape unrecognized 

True in some future 

Or some past

An old soul, a vintage shadow,

Walking the midnight streets of a postcard Provence.

Fall Break: Sweden!

My school here in Aix had a week off for fall break and my friend Abbie is studying in Sweden, so I hopped across the Baltic Sea to the land of the tall, blond, and be-knitted. The air was cold but the fika (obligatory and often thrice-daily coffee break) was hot, and the two of us spent a lovely week admiring architecture, baking cookies, and laughing at funny Swedish words.

Stockholm 

Changing of the guards outside the Royal Palace

Old Stockholm

Tiny wooden horses everywhere!

Abbie in Old Stockholm

Skating rink

Cathedral in Linköping, the city where Abbie lives

My first pro sports experience- a Swedish hockey match

Historic farm next to the university

Old Linköping

Halloween horse cookies!

IKEA food- not bad for a furniture store

Norköping, a smaller city near Linköping

La Camargue, more Sainte Victoire, and Nice

La Camargue- the Wild West of France. Located about an hour and a half west of Aix, la Camargue is known for its farmlands, traditional "guardienes" (cowboys), and a specific breed of white horses used for cattle farming. Yee-haw!

Hôtel de Ville, the city hall of Aix

 A night out on the town with my American friends

Sainte Victoire: Take Two

A sunny Sunday hike with my classmates, our new French friend Thibault, and some Brits he brought along. You wouldn't believe it from the photos, but a huge thunderstorm rolled in just as we were getting down from the top and drenched us while we waited for the bus. It was worth the shower!

Nice and the Côte d'Azur

 

Mashed potatoes with calamari (yum!) and the view from my host dad's sister's house in Nice

      

                     

La Côte d'Azur

A quick stop in Grasse at Fragonard and Molinard, two of the oldest perfume producers/factories in France. Needless to say, I treated myself to a souvenir...